Pre-Consumer Textile Waste Management for a Sustainable Future

Did you know that the fashion industry produces about 13 million tons of waste globally each year! (source)

That’s about 24 thousand times the weight of an empty Burj Khalifa! (source)

A substantial portion of this is pre-consumer waste.

What is Pre-Consumer Textile Waste

Pre-consumer “waste” refers to the raw supplies that are discarded before reaching the end-consumer. These are not useless or damaged supplies. They are just not utilised in the production process.

Why?

Inconsistency in fabric

Producing textiles in huge volumes results in some minute inconsistencies at irregular intervals. These cannot be used in finished products.

Cutting Residues

When fabrics are marked, layered, and cut out into desired shapes and sizes, the pieces left are unuseful in the production process.

Upcycling to the Rescue!

Upcycling implies the creative utilisation of waste/excess supplies to form new products. It not just significantly reduces waste but provides a sustainable result. It is, indeed, the ultimate solution to pre-consumer waste management.

How Can Consumers Encourage It

As consumers of sustainable fashion, we should actively support upcycling of pre-consumer textile waste.

Here’s how –

1) Traceback your garments’ production. Was it sustainable at each stage?

2) Seek information on what happened to the by-products of producing your garments.

3) Demand upcycling. We, as consumers, have the power to make an impact!

How Can Brands Encourage It

As apparel brands, we know of the pre-consumer textile waste accumulation. We tend to overlook the same because it appears as a distraction from our principal product(s).

Although, upcycling this accumulated content to create a beautiful new product(s) is a wise move! This would leave a positive impression on planet Earth and on your customers.

Think it. Make it happen.

Sustainable Practices for Pre-Consumer Waste Management at HerbalFab:

At HerbalFab, we strongly believe in and adopt sustainability in every facet of our lives.

We reintegrate this pre-consumer textile waste into the supply chain by producing stunning and sustainable products out of it.

Locals Over Landfills

Some fabric offcuts are unusable in the supply chain due to their erratic sizes. These offcuts are handed to the locals who use these pieces of textiles for making mattress stuffing etc. This way, we particularly downsize the junk headed to the landfills.

Seconds Become Firsts

There are always some portions of the fabric that is slightly dissimilar to the rest of the fabric while produced in bulk. These are called Second Fabrics. They are sorted out of the bulk and usually discarded. But not at HerbalFab! We use them as fresh and first fabrics of small cuts for making tote bags and accessories.